Depth And Injuries

[claytonduper]

Now that we have finished the Draft and most of free Agency, it would be a good exercise to see where we have depth and where we are still thin. Unfortunately, our recent Dolphin teams have not remained healthy as we have had our share of bad luck. I will not include Tannehill, because if he goes down again, the season is shot as well as his career in Miami.

Areas where we are deep and could absorb 1-2 injuries:

1. Receivers: We've been playing with an injured Parker for most of his career. We've got 4-5 guys fighting for the 5th receiver position, all have some good attributes. Then we have Carroo who I really don't know where he stands.
2. CB's: We played without Lippett last year and have added 2 more players in the Draft. McCain is playing well, Howard and Tankersly should be better. Having McDonald play all year with 3 good safeties is a nice change.

Areas of razor thin depth:

1. DT: With the absence of Suh we have a huge void. If one of three current DT's gets hurt (especially Phillips who has missed games due to injury) we will be hurting. I would be surprised if we don't pick up a veteran during the pre-season cuts.
2. LB: We are counting on McMillan to come back from injury and play like a veteran. High expectations. Not sure Baker will be impactful in his first year and not sure if he is another version of Kiko.
3. Offensive Line: On paper we seem geared to have a better unit. However, our injury history has been devastating to our recent O-lines. I hope Asiata takes it up a couple notches.

I'm sure there are other concerns and hopefully some solutions on our roster already. Really rooting for 1-2 undrafted players to have an impact. Hope we never see Brock take a snap.

 

[allsilverdreams]

I think when Suh's cap hit comes off the books in July you will see a few more veterans added. Plus a few more after the 53 man cuts.

 

[Lilseb93]

The depth might not seem as razor thin by the end of this season. Although we do need a veteran DT (I think we'll get one after we get the money from cutting Suh in June).

The LB position may actually be in a good spot depending on how they pan out. Put McDonald as a LB/Safety hybrid and Alonso at his more natural position, and then you have McMillan and Baker who are both unproven. Then we have Anthony, Hull, and Poling as depth. We're going to be running plays at times with only 2 LBs. Having Fitz and Jones at safety helps them even more. And there's always a guy in camp that comes out of nowhere. So it might end up being pretty good in the long run.

Godchaux, Taylor, and Philips are the core right now. If we can get a veteran and then find another decent guy in camp or something, the DT spot might not seem as grim. With that said, I think with Philips being inconsistent and a FA next year, I think we're going DT in one of the top rounds next year or we're getting a decent FA. It's the most glaring hole to me right now.

The offensive line actually looks promising to me unless people really disappoint. We have Tunsil and James as our bookend tackles. Tunsil especially needs to play like an elite talent with NFL experience at tackle now. Larsen is solid and Sutton is good. Kilgore is ok and can't be much worse than Pouncey. Then you have Asiata who hasn't played yet, Brendel, Smith, Davis, and Young. These guys aren't great, but they are decent depth. If Asiata pans out then we're in even better shape. This is the best I felt about the O-line in quite a while.

 

[Jay131866]

Now that we have finished the Draft and most of free Agency, it would be a good exercise to see where we have depth and where we are still thin. Unfortunately, our recent Dolphin teams have not remained healthy as we have had our share of bad luck. I will not include Tannehill, because if he goes down again, the season is shot as well as his career in Miami.

Areas where we are deep and could absorb 1-2 injuries:

1. Receivers: We've been playing with an injured Parker for most of his career. We've got 4-5 guys fighting for the 5th receiver position, all have some good attributes. Then we have Carroo who I really don't know where he stands.
2. CB's: We played without Lippett last year and have added 2 more players in the Draft. McCain is playing well, Howard and Tankersly should be better. Having McDonald play all year with 3 good safeties is a nice change.

Areas of razor thin depth:

1. DT: With the absence of Suh we have a huge void. If one of three current DT's gets hurt (especially Phillips who has missed games due to injury) we will be hurting. I would be surprised if we don't pick up a veteran during the pre-season cuts.
2. LB: We are counting on McMillan to come back from injury and play like a veteran. High expectations. Not sure Baker will be impactful in his first year and not sure if he is another version of Kiko.
3. Offensive Line: On paper we seem geared to have a better unit. However, our injury history has been devastating to our recent O-lines. I hope Asiata takes it up a couple notches.

I'm sure there are other concerns and hopefully some solutions on our roster already. Really rooting for 1-2 undrafted players to have an impact. Hope we never see Brock take a snap.

I don't see thin depth at LB or OL honestly, we have plenty of decent capable backup LB's. It's good starters that we lack.

And you left out QB, we clearly have no depth there whatsoever. DT and QB are the major issues.

 

[russdoe]

I don't think another QB will be added right or wrong. I agree DT is highly likely.
My greatest concern is kicker. Starting a rookie kicker will likely cost us a game or two if the offense doesn't improve.